High school coach suspended after obscene photo spreads on social media

High school students do silly and stupid things all the time, right? That’s nothing new. But when an adult gets involved in those antics, it’s a whole different story. Dallas-based KTVT-TV reported on Friday that the girls varsity soccer coach at Rockwall-Heath High School in Rockwall, Texas has been put on paid administrative leave after a scandalous photo of him and his team spread on social media.

The photo shows the coach, who the Dallas Morning News identified as Marco Duran, standing behind a group of uniformed players with his arms raised, while the players in front of him give the middle finger to the camera. The photo made its way to other students and parents via social media, and was eventually seen by administrators at the Rockwall Independent School District. To no one’s surprise, they were none too happy about it. Duran was immediately put on leave, and the school district released a statement about the photo.

Rockwall ISD and our athletic program have a high standard of good character and sportsmanship for our student-athletes. The actions of the students and coach in the photo are disturbing and do not reflect the culture or belief of excellence for Rockwall-Heath High School or the girls varsity soccer team. We became aware of the photo on Monday and took swift action. Appropriate action has been taken in response to the student involvement and the coach is currently on administrative leave.

The photo makes it seem like the coach was part of a planned photo, but that may not be the full story. On Twitter, a former teacher and coach at Rockwall Heath High School came to Duran’s defense.

This is not allowed by coaches or teachers. It’s one of the many things coaches and teachers constantly try to get across to students that it’s not appropriate. The athletes had the photo planned out, the coach photo bombed the pic unaware of the plan.

We have no idea if Rodney Hooper has inside info about the photo itself, but the scenario he presents isn’t farfetched. It’s entirely possible that the students were taking a picture just for themselves, and the coach wandered in at the last minute without knowing what was going on. In fact, KVTV said that Duran photobombs student photos “frequently.”

Regardless, it’s not a good look for anyone in the photo. According to the statement released by the school district, “appropriate action” has been taken against the students who were involved, though it’s not known what that action is. At the very least, they’ll probably think twice about giving the middle finger to a camera for a good long while.